I run xsetup.sh and I select Xvesa, 640x480, 8bit. However when starting up with startx it tells me that it's using default or previous settings and it looks like I'm getting 16 colors....pretty terrible. I look in the .xserverrc file and it looks ok.

Also, most things that I run from inside X, like to shut down, pop up the box and then it immediately closes out. Is this because of the colors also?

For older hardware (e.g. WD90C24 chipsets) the xf86_svga server from XFree V3 can be used with a suitable xf86config file. See the post XF86_SVGA[5] in the forums for more details on this option. A valid xf86config file for your system will be required. Try Google to find one. Note that the XFree configuration utility in the repository is for XFree V4.

The Compaq LTE Elites have that chipset, so I'm using that XF86_SVGA and a XF86Config file.

Perhaps you could try starting X with the command "startx -- -depth 8" in case it is for some reason using four bit colour by default. If that works you should be able to permanently change the settings in your xf86config file. See the man pages for details.

Using "startx -- -depth 8" does the same thing as starting up normally. The background shows up and looks great and then fades into botchedness.

I thought under Section "Screen" where I have Driver, Device, Monitor and "Depth 8" is what is supposed to set that. As a test I tried commenting out the "Depth 8" and starting up with:startx -- -depth 4startx -- -depth 8startx -- -depth 16Same results as above in all cases....so apparently I don't know how to set the depth if it doesn't take from the XF86Config or the command line.

Update, when I start x with XF86_SVGA one of the printed out lines is:(**) SVGA: Using 8 bpp, Depth 8, Color weight: 666

The man page (http://www.xfree86.org/4.3.0/XFree86.1.html) says it sets the balance between the RGB colours. This seems like it might be the anwser, however it also says the setting only applies to bpp 16 drivers, so it shouldn't do anything. Perhaps this is the reason it is set to a non-default value.

Going slowly though your video, I see now what you mean by the colours "fading into blotchiness". Perhaps it is some driver bug where colour data is getting messed up. Perhaps try disabling the background image in case the image display software is causing a problem. Or maybe try changing to fluxbox as the window manager.